Monthly Archives: August 2009

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Quietly contemplate the Lamb as the light of heaven. Light in Scripture is
the emblem of joy. The joy of the saints in heaven is comprised in this:
Jesus chose us, loved us, bought us, cleansed us, robed us, kept us,
glorified us: we are here entirely through the Lord Jesus.

And the quote of the day (Spurgeon)

Let us draw nigh to Him, and in Him find joy and peace in believing.  Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of His promises, and go forth to labors which befit the season, for it were ill to be as the sluggard who will not plough by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.

What comfort it is to dwell in God's promises!

A promise is only as good as the one who makes it...and yet, when we are brought to Christ, when we are called, we are also called to a mission.  To fail to do that mission is to misuse the grace of Christ.

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We sang this in service yesterday morning and Jeremiah (worship leader) said that when we surrender all to Jesus, we can have the comfort and faith of knowing that we have every part of Him...on the cross, He withheld nothing.

All to Jesus I surrender;
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken;
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power;
Let Thy blessing fall on me.

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

All to Jesus I surrender;
Now I feel the sacred flame.
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!

I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.

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I would like complementarianism.

I'd like different preaching.

I'd like proclaiming.

But I love the worship.

Every song (except one) so resonated with me today.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

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This relatively short book tells a story of faithfulness.

In one day, his livestock were stolen, his sheep and his servants were all killed.

While he was still hearing this news...another messenger arrived.

All of his sons and daughters were killed.

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said,
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
may the name of the LORD be praised."(Job 1:20-21)

In the midst of everything...Job grieved for a time...and then praised God.

And we can too.  There is a time for grieving, but if we praise God through it all, we learn and grow.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

We know that our suffering is for a reason and a season

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” Romans 5:3-4,

And nobody can snatch us out of His hand

Romans 8:35-39, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”